{"id":115591,"date":"2026-04-04T13:29:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T19:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=115591"},"modified":"2026-04-04T13:29:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T19:29:43","slug":"for-holy-saturday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2026\/04\/for-holy-saturday.html","title":{"rendered":"For Holy Saturday"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"uj83u4uj399ufrv49rnvhjnmosjsvndfnvebeyhnvhweurhnuhnurhjioee8686859403\"<\/a>
The logo or masthead of Conversations with Interpreter<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Freshly posted on the famously somnolent website of the Interpreter Foundation is this new item: Conversations with Interpreter<\/em>: Daniel Peterson and Becoming Brigham<\/em>:<\/a><\/p>\n

This episode features Dr. Daniel C. Peterson, professor emeritus and president of the Interpreter Foundation. Dr. Peterson discusses the exciting new web series Becoming Brigham<\/em>, which presents a fuller picture of the person and ministry of Brigham Young than is sometimes presented in our broader discourse. Although definitely a product of the Nineteenth Century, the historical evidence shows that Brigham Young was not the authoritarian leader of popular imagination. In the podcast, Dr. Peterson shares some of his favorite stories about President Young that give a different perspective on him, including on issues of race and plural marriage. This episode serves as a taste of what is available to watchers of Becoming Brigham<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Incidentally, too, a thirty-second \u201cteaser\u201d for the forthcoming eleventh installment of the Interpreter Foundation\u2019s Becoming Brigham<\/em> effort is now up online: \u00a0\u201cTRAILER\u2014Becoming Brigham series, Episode 11.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 And, by the way, the home page of the Becoming Brigham<\/em> project, where all of the currently available episodes are available for free viewing, is located here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Chora<\/a>
Between his crucifixion and his resurrection, Christ visits the world of spirits and, taking them by the hand, lifts Adam and Eve from their lost state. This fresco \u2014 entitled \u201c\u1f00\u03bd\u03ac\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03c3\u03b9\u03c2\u201d (anastasis<\/em> or \u201cResurrection,\u201d but really a representation of the \u201cDescensus\u201d or the \u201cHarrowing of Hell\u201d) \u2014 appears in Istanbul\u2019s (Constantinople\u2019s) marvelous \u201cChora Church,\u201d which is also known as the Kariye Mosque (Turkish: Kariye Camii), or the Church of the Holy Savior in Chora (Greek: \u1f18\u03ba\u03ba\u03bb\u03b7\u03c3\u03af\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6 \u1f09\u03b3\u03af\u03bf\u03c5 \u03a3\u03c9\u03c4\u1fc6\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u1f10\u03bd \u03c4\u1fc7 \u03a7\u03ce\u03c1\u1fb3), and is located in the Edirnekap\u0131 neighborhood of Istanbul, Turkey, near the city\u2019s great ancient Byzantine walls. (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I hope that you\u2019ll set aside a few minutes to read the 2026 Interpreter Foundation Easter message, which appeared yesterday and which was written by Janet Ewell<\/a>. \u00a0It has particular relevance to today, Holy Saturday, the day (often rather overlooked) between the crucifixion of Christ on Friday and his resurrection sometime early on Sunday morning: \u00a0\u201cEaster and Doctrine and Covenants 138: Our Harrowing of Hell, Our Descensus Christi ad Inferos<\/em>, Our Anastasis\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

I believe, too, that I failed to mention the new installment of The Interpreter Insights Podcast<\/em> that went up on Thursday, 2 April: \u00a0\u201cThe Interpreter Insights Podcast<\/em> \u2014 April 2, 2026: \u201cStanford Carmack and the Language of the Book of Mormon\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

In the 2 April 2026 episode of The Interpreter Insights Podcast<\/em>, our host Martin Tanner<\/a> is joined by Stanford Carmack<\/a> to discuss the language of the Book of Mormon.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In my own defense, I have to say that it\u2019s sometimes very difficult to keep up with the Interpreter Foundation\u2019s complete lack of activity.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Jesus carries his cross in a scene from the official Bible videos produced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a>. (LDS Media Library). This is a depiction of a scene from the life of Jesus Christ, as it appears in the gospel of John. \u00a0It isn\u2019t a specimen of \u201ccross symbology\u201d or \u201cveneration\u201d or \u201cadoration.\u201d \u00a0Blacking out depictions of Christ\u2019s cross and his crucifixion from Church art would be almost as strange. in my judgment, as excising mention of them from the New Testament text itself would be.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Citing yesterday\u2019s blog entry<\/a>, one of the regulars at the Peterson Obsession Board summarizes it as follows: \u00a0\u201cPeterson now agrees<\/a> that placing a statue with cross symbology in front of the Church\u2019s flagship temple, IS a significant shift from the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

I had opened that blog entry with the following comment:<\/p>\n

One of the first steps in a serious, intellectually honest disagreement is to attempt to understand (and perhaps even to restate) the differing position of a discussion partner in such a way that she would recognize it as expressing her own actual opinion.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here is my actual opinion, in my own actual words:<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think that the Michael Hall statue of Jesus Christ Carrying the Cross<\/em> is an instance of \u201ccross symbology\u201d . . . Placing Michael Hall\u2019s statue on Temple Square indicates no reversal on the use of \u201ccross symbology.\u201d \u00a0We haven\u2019t adopted<\/em> \u201ccross symbology.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

How do you<\/em> rate the POB poster\u2019s attempt to understand and restate my position on this matter? \u00a0I have to be honest: \u00a0I don\u2019t think that his effort is, umm, fully adequate. \u00a0Can you<\/em> discern any difference between what I said and his proposed summary of it?<\/p>\n

I dunno. \u00a0I\u2019ve decided to forego further futile attempts to help the folks on the Obsession Board understand my viewpoint on this matter. \u00a0I\u2019ve seen no evidence that they\u2019re interested.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The official poster for The Good Samaritan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019m pleased to pass on the news that The Good Samaritan<\/em><\/a>, a 45-minute-long film created by our very good friends at Emmaus Road Media<\/a>, is now available for streaming via Angel Studios<\/a>. \u00a0It\u2019s part of a larger project to bring \u201cThe Parables of Jesus\u201d to the screen.<\/p>\n

At one point, there was a serious effort to involve the Interpreter Foundation in this project. \u00a0It was ultimately thwarted by factors beyond our control, but I watch what they\u2019re doing with particular interest. \u00a0It\u2019s not only that they\u2019re friends. \u00a0You may or may not have noticed it, but I have a special personal interest in the power of film to convey the message of the Restoration.<\/p>\n

\"Meyer<\/a>
A fin-de-si\u00e8cle<\/em> image of Passover, painted by Mathilde Hahn Meyer
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I hope that you\u2019re having a wonderful Easter weekend and General Conference weekend! \u00a0I think it\u2019s wonderful that they coincide this year, and that both coincide, more or less, with the Jewish season of Pesach<\/em> or Passover. \u00a0On several occasions in past years, though not recently, I\u2019ve had the privilege and opportunity to conduct slightly modified Passover seders<\/em> for Latter-day Saints. \u00a0I\u2019ve enjoyed them immensely, and I think them a superb and memorable opportunity to teach not only about the Israelite exodus from Egypt and the Lord\u2019s Last Supper but about salvation and the Atonement more generally. \u00a0I\u2019ve wished that more Latter-day Saints could have some such experience.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Freshly posted on the famously somnolent website of the Interpreter Foundation is this new item: Conversations with Interpreter: Daniel Peterson and Becoming Brigham: This episode features Dr. Daniel C. Peterson, professor emeritus and president of the Interpreter Foundation. Dr. Peterson discusses the exciting new web series Becoming Brigham, which presents a fuller picture of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":42419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[9815,9812,4750,2905,788,5814],"class_list":["post-115591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-descensus","tag-harrowing-of-hell","tag-holy-saturday","tag-latter-day-saint","tag-mormon","tag-spirit-world"],"yoast_head":"\nFor Holy Saturday<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"  Freshly posted on the famously somnolent website of the Interpreter Foundation is this new item: Conversations with Interpreter: Daniel Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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